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From: mberns@ut-ngp.UUCP (Mark Bernstein)
Newsgroups: net.auto,net.auto.tech
Subject: Re: Oil filters - Summary
Message-ID: <3031@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Mar-86 09:34:53 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.3031
Posted: Fri Mar  7 09:34:53 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Mar-86 08:28:58 EST
References: <29@ur-tut.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Univ of TX at Austin, Speech
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Xref: watmath net.auto:9714 net.auto.tech:877


**

I may get flamed for this, but I wonder if one can easily go a bit too
far, in a realistic sense, worrying about some of this.  

Under virtually all normal conditions, with a normal car, *changing the
oil frequently* (or at least as per mfrs.' recommendations), it seems 
rather far-fetched to imagine that an oil filter will get clogged up
so badly as to literally stop the flow of oil.  I wonder if mfrs. use
bypass valve type filters precisely because they KNOW that MANY people
AREN'T going to change their oil/filters as often as they should.  YOU
shouldn't worry about this; my dad (who can go 2 years before
remembering that, gee, I ought to have the oil changed), for instance, 
should.  With all due respect, I really do think that provided you do
change the oil and filter regularly there might be other, more important 
things to worry about re: your car (e.g. which tires to buy), and that it 
is silly to spend more money for the dealer's filter.  Fram, AC,
Purolator, etc. ought to do just fine.  Who do you think makes the
filters that the dealer sells (for more $), anyway?

Apart from the presence or absence of the bypass valve, I seriously
doubt that opening several filters for examination is going to reveal
anything meaningful that will affect a decision one way or the other.
Unless you're an automotive engineer.  What do you expect to find?
And even then, as I've indicated above, if you're conscientious about 
regular maintenance, the risk of ANY kind of engine damage due to using 
a filter other than the dealer's seems infinitesimal.  

--

Mark Bernstein, Univ of Texas at Austin, Speech Communication, Austin 78712
ARPA:  mberns@ngp.UTEXAS.EDU
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